


Trembling Eagle

by Gemidori



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crying, Edelgard needs all the love, Edelgard's rat trauma strikes again, F/M, Ferdie is a klutz, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Spoilers, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, I don't even know FE too well but I love this ship, Implied Edelgard/Byleth, Mentioned Ferdinand von Aegir, Mentioned My Unit | Byleth, Mentions of Death, Nightmares, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Protective Hubert von Vestra, Sad with a Happy Ending, Scared Edelgard, Sleeping Together, Sub Edelgard von Hresvelg, What if they done did a poly though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23065339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemidori/pseuds/Gemidori
Summary: Edelgard has yet another nightmare of her dark past, but this time Hubert finds out.Warning: Plenty of spoilers
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hubert von Vestra, Edelgard von Hresvelg/Hubert von Vestra
Kudos: 24





	Trembling Eagle

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know shit about Fire Emblem but I don't think I've seen a character so appealing to me that it singlehandedly got me into their entire home franchise a little bit
> 
> I could probably go on for at least an hour about how adorable yet so magnificent of a character she is, and I feel like anything I write would not do her justice - she's that deep and complex of a character ;m;
> 
> I've grown to really love Edelbert (Edelgard x Hubert) so I decided to write this out - this was an idea I had for a good few days so I hope it's not trash
> 
> Warning: There are quite a few spoilers for Edelgard's backstory.

Sometimes Hubert underestimated how things could shift so wildly, for better or worse, with a blink of an eye. Even with the great war against the Church looming over practically all sides of conflict, there still seemed to be enough room for _medial_ troublesome matters. It didn't even feel like the same day with how abrupt it all began. One second he was looking through doorstopping towers of documents - since his Emperor always had a problem of _not_ doing that - and then the next second, he found himself running. Running to help said Emperor, almost within the instant he started hearing a sound next door. A sound that, if he were to be honest, immediately tugged his heart into two.

Edelgard's hyperventilating and failed attempts at _screaming._

He was immediately torn into two perspectives. His rationality told him - _it was only a nightmare. Why fret over it?_ But with how many are wanting his superior's head, he feared that someone could be taking her life this very second. He wouldn't stand for it. If anyone truly had to perish this night, his Lady Edelgard should never suffer such a fate. No one else but him...he was just an asset to her, yes? She wouldn't be impeded terribly by his loss. Or at least that's what he _would_ think if he didn't consider what would happen next.

Hubert had cracked the door to the small woman's room open, and right away he could see the emperor, curled up in her bed, struggling to breathe. "...Lady Edelgard?" The tall man said, his voice slightly stern and stoic as always but still having an obvious hint of concern to it. Right away he could see the Adrestian look up and let out a yelp in shock, her lavender eyes widened as she moved to back away and cover herself with her duvets - clearly still in a fit of irrational terror. Seeming to keep his cool yet still filled with worry, Hubert said in a calmer, even gentle tone: "Please simmer. You are safe...it's only me." The emperor's breathing only slightly slowed, her eyes still wide as she slowly brought the blanket down from her face.

"H...H-Hubert...?" Her voice sounded hoarse - weak, even. It was nothing that the bodyguard ever heard before, and it had practically shot an arrow through his rather dark heart. He tried to utter words, but found himself unable to, instead only able to gently walk toward his leader and slowly lay himself down on her bed. Almost instantly, von Hresvelg wrapped her arms around her servant, her face burrowing into his chest. Hubert did not protest for even a second. Very slowly did he start to return the favor, his arms slowly wrapping around the short emperor's body.

"...Did you have a nightmare?" He gently asked, almost parentally, to which the emperor nodded. "...Please elaborate. If you can." The way the man said the second sentence seemed almost like an afterthought - once again would his concern over the emperor's mental soundness take first place over all else. Edelgard seemed to hesitate for a good few seconds, before she cleared her throat, almost in an attempt to put her prim, proper facade back together. "...I dreamt of them...M-my siblings..." She tried to begin with a clear voice, though clearly it was still wavering and fragile, "When they first had gone m-mad, from the--" she almost lost her voice, "--Crests...those damn experiments..." Her mind seemed to be drawing blanks, made even worse by the fact that she started to snivel. She still fought back tears however, trying to continue. "I-I saw them die, Hubert...I saw them die again, and _again_...no matter how many damned times I tried to stop it..." Her body began to tremble. "...I could hear his voice, all the while..."

"Voice?" Hubert asked bluntly, to which the woman gently nodded. "...You know of him...Thales." She said, in probably her most coherent sounding sentence through the whole ramble. He could even sense a _bitter_ tone to her voice, and for **quite** good reason. She was talking about the man who took away any semblance of innocence from her soul. The one who _killed_ the sweet girl he once knew. In her attempts to finish, she seemed to realize that she hadn't even relayed to Hubert the worst part. "...He appeared in front of me, holding..." She let out a sob. "...Professor...then...he had snapped [their] neck...I could feel my own breaking..." That seemed to be the end of the story, as the emperor slowly blubbered into weepy nonsense. "H-Hubert...Please..." She begged him half-mindedly, for something even she didn't know she needed.

Almost _immediately_ did Hubert give the emperor a full-fledged hug, letting her have a good hard cry in his chest. "...Lady Edelgard..." he muttered, a rare moment of sympathy clear in his voice. "...I'm sorry. You mustn't be haunted so badly by your own past...we both know that we are to shape the future." The small lady tried to respond, though it had come out as just pitiful whimpering and sobbing. This immediately gave the man the clue that this was probably not the ideal way to console her at this moment, so instead he had simply kept hugging her close, letting the empress cling and sob.

"Shhhhhh...you are safe, my lady...No harm will come your way now. Thales cannot reach you now, nor harm our professor." The man said lovingly, running a hand through the shaking Adrestian's snow white hair - tied to buns thanks to her almost dazzlingly golden horns. Hubert couldn't possibly hope to choose which look was prettier on her - her hair, loose and exposed in its glory, or stylized and contained in such powerful looking armoring. He had almost wanted to go on ahead and give one of her horns a gentle peck, though had dismissed the thought as too drastic.

A sudden soft clatter stopped their thoughts, followed by a frustrated exclaim heard in a different room. Hubert's eyes open slowly, giving a more usual disgruntled expression. _Ferdinand...him and his slippery hands_ , he remarked in his thoughts. Edelgard on the other hand yelped, clinging even tighter as she seemed almost horrified by the slight. "N-No...!! T-That's-that must have been a rat!--" She began, her body quivering before her aide stopped her: "Simmer, Lady Edelgard. You must not fret so frequently." Hubert slowly stroked the emperor's soft cheeks even despite her face being buried into her chest. She pulled away to look up at him with a mix of desperation and frustration, tears streaming down her eyes like waterfalls. saying: "F-Fret?!! Y-You know how much I hate those wretched things!" The man held back a chuckle. While he didn't know exactly what caused her phobia to come to be, he still always knew that Edelgard was loathing of rats...though why she would assume this now wasn't clear to him. Perhaps they were in her dream as well.

He hadn't bothered to ask however, opting to hug onto his superior tighter - slowly wiping her tears from her face. "...I will keep you away from the vermin. I vow it with my life--" Another clatter sounded - damn Ferdinand again - which immediately caused the empress to exclaim and practically glue herself even tighter onto her aide. "G-Gnyaaaaaaaahh!!!~" She let out a disgusted, terrified yell, which would have been quite loud if she weren't yelling it right into Hubert's chest. She had started to return into a sobbing fit as the tactician kept his focus on hugging and consoling her. "Simmer...it is okay. If there are any rats, Ferdinand is exterminating them as we speak. They _cannot_ reach you." At this point, Vestra had begun to slowly pull the blankets back over himself and his ruler, almost as a way to ensure Edelgard's security. "Simmer...simmer. I will not leave this room, Lady Edelgard. Not unless you order me to." He said with almost _crippling_ honesty - though given how their time together has been, it was hardly surprising.

Minutes pass, and the emperor's body started to tremble less, her shallow breaths becoming deeper and more controlled. The tactician _almost_ cracked a smile, relieved to see his efforts of consoling his beloved was finally starting to work. Slowly pulling herself from his chest which must have been soaked in tears by now, Edelgard said in a more familiarly prim tone: " _Do not_ tell a soul about this." In spite of her red eyes and damp face, her expression was an attempt at a threatening glare, though it had come off more as a pout. Hubert smirked slightly, responding: "Of course I would not, my Lady. Would you think otherwise?" Before the empress knew it, the tactician leaned in to give her a smooch to the nose, which had caused her to flinch - blushing heavily and looking away. "H-Hubert...--"

" _Yes,_ Lady Edelgard?" His tone seemed less flat - more playful, even, which provoked the Adrestian to look at him with a harder pout. She then suddenly leaned forward, giving Hubert a deep kiss straight on the lips. Slightly shocked but nevertheless acceptant, he gently started to return the kiss, yet again running a hand through her ivory colored locks. The kiss felt like it had lasted minutes, even if it was truly only seconds long. Slowly pulling away, the two exchanged stares as they both slowly leaned over to their side, to lay their head upon her bed's soft pillows. "...I love you, Lady Edelgard." Hubert simply, rather bluntly stated, the Adrestian huffing and saying: "I _know_ you do, you enormous dog..." Hubert shook his head slightly, still smirking and remarking: "You must say it back, Lady Smallness."

"S-Smallness? _Smallness?!_ " Edelgard exclaimed, her blush growing darker in color as Hubert let out a chuckle, almost feeling embarrassed for letting his facade drop so abruptly. "H-How dare you...I love you as well..." Her shyness was quite evident, very much unlike how he normally saw her. Regardless, the taller one only responded via stroking the small one's cheek again, Edelgard's eyes closing gently from the pleasant stimuli.

"...Hubert. I am sorry for...disrupting your business. It's quite disgraceful of me, isn't it?" Edelgard said quietly, her blush lightening up - only to deepen a bit again from her aide's response. "No, Lady Edelgard. Perhaps this is a reminder of how much I value you. I am in fact grateful to have a moment like this." Feeling her eyes brim with tears again, the empress was silent for a good moment. It was clear that she was trying to come up with something for a response, but in the end her mind was simply too drowsy to do such a feat. In the end, the two had drifted to a silent rest with this exchange.

"...T-Thank you, Hubert."

"It is my pleasure, Lady Edelgard."


End file.
